Aeroplane.



J. v. GROWTHERS.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.10, 1912.

Patented May 26, 19M

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. V. OROWTHERS.

AEROPLANE. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 10, 1912. 1,08,098, Patented May26,1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

N V 7 .li w I I R fig;;;.E E!i1"' i anvemtoz gwweooeofi/ J. v.GROWTHERS. ABROPLANE.

APPLIGATION FILED JAN. 10, 19I 2.

Patented May 26, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

J. V. OROWTHERS.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN 10 1912v Patented May 26, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

an Wm z JAMES V. CROWTHERS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

AEROPLANE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 26, 1914.

Application filed January 10. 1912. Serial No. 670,429.

5 Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement inAeroplanes, of which the following is a specification.

It is the object of this invention to auto-v matically control themovement of a warping plane, aileron or other movable portion, wheneverthe plane or planes tilt or deviate appreciably from the horizontal, soas to automatically restore the plane to the horizontal position andprevent overturning. This result I accomplish by means of asuspendedgravity controlled weight, which is connected with theailerons, flexible end or ends of the plane or planes or other movableportion: and acts as an equilibrator to warp the movable portion orportions when the plane is tilted so that the wind pressure acting onthe warped ends or port-ions will tend to restore the equilibrium.

In my preferred construction the equi- 5 librator consists of a weight,suspended from the machine at the center of gravity between the motorand the aviators seat, and adapted to be raised and lowered, so that itmay be lifted up above the running gear. when the machine is at rest orabout to alight, and may be lowered into opera- 'tive position when themachine is in flight.

The invention may be applied either to a biplane or to a monoplanewithout material 5 modification and I have shown and will hereinafterdescribe both applications.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front elevation of a biplane embodyingthe invention; Figs. 2 and 3 are views of details partly in section;Fig. 4: is a side elevation of the biplane shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is aside elevation enlarged of the devices for raising and lowering theequilibrator; Fig. 6 is an end view of the same partly in verticalsection; Fig. 7 is a front elevation of a monoplane embodying theinvention: Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the same; Figs. 9 and 10 arerespectively a front elevation and side elevation of a biplane showingthe invention applied to the control of the ailerons. I

Referring first to the embodiment of the invention in a biplane as shownin Figs. 1-4: a is the usual frame having the motor 6 5 and fan 0 at thefront and carrying the aviators seat cl. 6, e, are the two planescarried by the usual frame work f connected with the main frame a. Theouter ends of the planes 6, e, which are connected to one another by therods f are flexible, and free to warp or bend in unison. Suspended fromthe frame of the machine, preferably at the center of gravity betweenthe seat and motor, is a weight g, which may be raised and lowered bysuitable means. This weight is connected laterally by collapsibleconnections h, h, with the flexible extremities of the planes 6, 6. Itis also connected in a similar manner with the tail frame by aconnection As shown the collapsible connections 71, h, consist of rods hand k connected respectively with the weight {7 and with the flexibleend of the plane 0, and provided on their inner ends with eyes 71 and h.respectively. The rod h passes through the eye 71. of the rod 71 and therod 1& passes through the eye h of the rod 71. thus forming a slidingconnection. 72. is a spring between the eye 71 of the rod 72. and theouter or connected .end of the rod 72. When the planes 6, e, are inhorizontal position, the suspended weight 9 will hang vertically andexert equal tension on the connection h, h. The rods 71', 72- will thenoccupy the position shown in Fig. 2 with the heads 79, ii. in contact.and the springs 71. acting to keep them in that position. When theplanes 6 assume a position out of the horizontal. the weight g beingcontrolled by gravity will swing to one side or the other of thevertical to the planes. as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1. Thiswill cause the weight g to pull upon the connection 72, on one side andto push upon the connection on the other side. As the heads h h are incontact the pull executed by the weight 9 upon the rod It will exert adirect pull upon the rod 7L thus warping or pulling down the outer endsof the planes 0, e at that end. At the same. time the push exerted bythe rod h on the other side will cause that rod to slide upon the rod Ifputting't-he spring 71- under compression. and allowing the ends of theplanes at that side to bend or warp upward. Ordinarily. however, thetension on the spring 75' would not be sufficient for the purpose, andas it is de-' sirable that the planes at one end should be warped upwardto the same extent that they are warped downward .at the other end, I

employ a connection between the two outer ends of the plane, so that thepositive downward movement at one end produced by the direct pull of theweight will produce a positive upward movement at the other end, F orthis purpose I employ a cord la connected at one end with the lowerfront corner of the lower plane 6, extending upward and across to apulley m at the rear of the end of the upper plane, thence horizontallyalong the upper plane to a similar pulley at the other end, and thendown and across to the lower corresponding front corner of the lowerplane. It follows that when the ends of the plane are warped down at oneend, the pull exerted by the cord is will positively warp up the planesat the other end. The weight g with its connections thus acts as anequilibrator to automatically warp the planes at their ends wheneverthere is any change from a horizontal position, and this warping willact to restore the horizontal position and to keep the aeroplane steady.The connection j between the equilibrator and the tail-frame may beconstructed in a manner similar to the lateral connections 71, h. It isintended to prevent the equilibrator from swinging longitudinally.

The equilibrator may be raised and lowcred so that it may be drawn upout of action when the machine is at rest or alighting, and may belowered as soon as the machine has ascended. For this purpose I haveshown the weight 9 provided with a rod 92 sliding in a tube 0 secured tothe frame a and connected by a wire 7; with a winding wheel 9, adjacentto the aviators seat. The wheel g is provided with a gear 9 engaging agear 7*, the shaft 7'' of which extends through the casing r and isprovided with a handle r .9 is a ratchet clutch between the handle r andthe casing 1' which is controlled by a spring-pin t extending throughthe handle. When the aviator wishes to lower the equilibrator hedepresses the pin 25 to throw out the clutch and then turns the handle rto operate the wheels 7' and g and unwind the cable k.

The application of the invention to a monoplane, as shown in Figs. 7 and8 is in all respects similar to the application to a biplane, exceptthat in this case, as there is but a single plane to warp, the ends ofthe plane 6 are connected by a wire In which runs over guides m in astationary frame a, which is slightly bent up at its ends as shown at ato permit the upward warping.

While I prefer the connections shown between the equilibrator and theends of the plane or planes, and the means for raising and lowering theequilibrator, and also the means for connecting the opposite ends of theplane I do not mean to limit myself to such devices, except where theyare specifically included in the claims, as other means may be employedfor the purpose without departing from the invention.

In Figs. 9 and 10 the invention is shown applied to the control of theailerons e of a machine having rigid planes. In this case theconnections h it are each connected by a wire it" with a rocker arm t onthe end of the plane and the arms of this rocker arm on opposite sidesof the pivot are connected by wires k 76 with the opposite sides of theaileron. When a pull is exerted on the connection it on one side by theweight 9 it will act through the wire it and the rocker arm 25 todeflect the aileron on that side, while the aileron at the other endwill be brought back into horizontal position by the action of the'wind,the tension on the connection on that side being released.

What I claim is as follows:

1. In an aeroplane, the combination with a plane having flexible ends,of a suspended gravity controlled weight, and collapsible connectionsbetween said weight and the ends of the plane adapted to automaticallywarp said ends by the lateral movement of the weight with referencethereto when the connections are extended, and means to raise and lowerthe weight to place it into and out of operation, at the same timecollapsing the connections with the ends of the plane.

2. In an aeroplane, the combination of the frame provided with themotor, aviators seat and a plane having flexible ends, a gravitycontrolled weight suspended below the plane at substantially the centerof gravity between the motor and aviators seat, and collapsibleconnections between said weight and the ends of the plane adapted toautomatically warp said ends by the lateral movement of the weight withreference thereto when the connections are extended by the lowering ofthe weight.

3. In an aeroplane, the combination of the frame provided with themotor, aviators seat and a plane having flexible ends, a gravitycontrolled weight suspended below the plane at substantially the centerof gravity between the motor and aviators seat, and connections betweensaid weight and the ends of the plane adapted t automatically warp saidends by the ateral movement of the weight with reference thereto, andhand controlled devices adjacent to the seat for raising and loweringsaid weight, the connections collapsing as the weight is raised.

4:. In an aeroplane, the combination with a plane having flexible ends,of a suspended gravity controlled weight, and connections between saidweight and the ends of the plane, said connections being composed ofsections free to collapse but held against extension beyond their normalposition.

5. In an aeroplane, the combination with a plane having flexible ends,of a suspended gravity controlled Weight, and connections between saidweight and the ends of the plane, said connections being composed ofsections free to collapse but held against extension beyond their normalposition, and springs tending to hold said sections in normal extendedcondition.-

6. In an areoplane, the combination with a plane having flexible ends,of a suspended gravity controlled weight, and connections between saidWeight and the ends of the plane, said connections being composed ofsections free to collapse but held against extension beyond their normalposition, and a tractive connection between the flexible ends of theplane.

7. In an aeroplane, the combination with the frame, of a plane carriedthereby and having flexible ends, a suspended gravity controlled weight,means to raise and lower the weight to place it into and out of action,collapsible connections between said weight and the ends of the planeadapted to automatically warp the ends by the lateral movement of theweight with reference thereto when the weight is lowered and theconnections are extended, and a collapsible but not extensibleconnection between said weight and the tail of the frame.

8. In an areoplane, the combination of a plane having a flexible end, asuspended weight movable laterally under the action of gravity, and aconnection between the weight and the flexible end of the plane 'c0l-'lapsible in the direction in which the weight swings but non-extensiblein the other direction.

9. In an aeroplane, the combination of the frame with its plane orplanes, a movable portion carried thereby, and a suspended gravitycontrolled weight, a collapsible but non-extensible connection betweensaid movable portion and weight adapted to move said movable portionwhen said Weight moves laterally with reference to said frame and itsplane, and means to raise and lower said weight.

10. In. an aeroplane, the combination of the frame with its plane orplanes, a movable portion carried thereby, a suspended weight arrangedto move laterally under the action of gravity and a connection betweenthe weight and movable portion collapsible in the direction in which theweight swings but non-extensible in the other direction.

In testimony of which invention, I hereunto set my hand. JAS. V.CROWTI-IERS. IVitnesses:

EARNEST HOWARD HUNTER, R. M. KELLY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Iatents, Washington, I). 0."

